Speed Metal

Leathürbitch – Shattered Vanity Review

By Steel Druhm on June 6, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 23 comments

“The 80s were an interesting time to be a young idiot metal fan. As NWoBHM styles gave way to the early days of thrash and speed, there was this creative tension between acts that were 100% thrash and others that were not quite there but definitely speedy and aggressive. Bands like Savage Grace, Jag Panzer, and Agent Steel walked that line between US power metal, thrash and speed and I was always very enamored with that hybrid style. This puts what Portland’s retro metal maniacs, Leathürbitch do directly in the moldy wheelhouse of Steel.” Bonfires and vanity.

Savage Grace – Sign of the Cross Review

By Steel Druhm on May 6, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 37 comments

“Savage Grace are a band now relegated pretty deeply into the dustbin of history, with only a small cadre of elder metal aficionados remembering their brief but entertaining forays into speed/traditional/NWoBHM from 1983 to 1987. They appeared on Metal Massacre II in 1982, but unlike other acts on that compilation like Warlord, Armored Saint, and Overkill, they never got to that next stage of their career, though they should be famous for some of the worst album art in metal history.” Grace in your face.

Intöxicated – Sadistic Nightmares Review

By Crispy Hooligan on May 5, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 18 comments

“Nearly ten years to the day Intöxicated blearily burst forth with their debut, the Germans stumble back up to the bar with a new singer in tow for follow-up Sadistic Nightmares. Intöxicated have tried buying Pedialyte in bulk; they’ve tried the greasiest pizza your town has to offer; they’ve tried cocooning themselves on the floor of a windowless bathroom. But the only way to cure this decade-long hangover is with another ultra-tight package of metal, murder, and mayhem.” Hammered and hammering.

Lüger – Revelations of the Sacred Skull Review

By Crispy Hooligan on February 15, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Speed Metal, 14 comments

“Montreal moshers Lüger have certainly taken their time crafting their follow-up to their 2018 debut, Hellraisers of the Waste. Such a long gestation between first and second albums often brings dark portents—with the infrequent exceptionally brilliant album. What such a gap most rarely brings is mediocrity. Revelations of the Sacred Skull squarely takes aim at Crispy’s heart with its blend of punk, trad, and doom, wrapped together in a delightfully sordid smut package.” Dead shot or major misfire?

Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags Review

By El Cuervo on February 13, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 40 comments

“In a crowded market of goat suppliers in the metal scene, Scotland’s Hellripper stands above the mob. Their infectious blend of speed/thrash/black metal offered me a lifeline back into a thrash scene that was boring me in the 2010s. 2020’s The Affair of the Poisons was a typically rambunctious affair and very comfortably hit my year-end list. But I have most recently been experiencing the company of Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags which reaches even further north towards Orkney, an archipelago north of the Scottish mainland.” Put a goat in your moat.

High Command – Eclipse of the Dual Moons Review

By Holdeneye on November 25, 2022 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 96 comments

“For me, 2022 has been chock-full of highly anticipated albums from returning favorites, so it’s only fitting that my last review of the year should be more of the same. Three years ago, I told you not to miss Beyond the Wall of Desolation, the debut full-length from Massachusetts band High Command and late addition to my year-end list. When I first heard that record, I immediately fell in love with the band’s epic, fantasy-themed crossover thrash and was impressed by the way they were able to take a bunch of old-school, typically aggro styles and mash them together into something oozing with grandeur.” Command to highly overrate.

LiveWire – Under Attack! [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]

By Kenstrosity on November 11, 2022 in Things You Might Have Missed 2022, Power Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 34 comments

“I don’t remember how I heard about LiveWire’s debut record, Under Attack!, but I do know that its album artwork caught my eye as I scrolled through my Bandcamp feed, and, well, here we are. The Aussie troupe used to operate under the moniker Fenrir, but in 2019 they rebranded and shifted in style. Since then, a few singles trickled out of the pipeline until April, when this absolute supernova of a record exploded into existence.” Hardwired to sponge destruct.

Daeva – Through Sheer Will and Black Magic Review

By Holdeneye on October 25, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 67 comments

“Daeva carries some serious post-2000 metal credibility among its ranks. Guitarist Scott Jansson and drummer Enrique Sagarnaga are longtime members of Crypt Sermon, and bassist Frank Chin joined Crypt Sermon in 2019 after spending eight years laying down rhythms for progressive thrash titans Vektor. Joining these fine instrumentalists is Infernal Stronghold vocalist Eddie Chainsaw, and together, these four nefarious gentlemen produce some of the most violent blackened thrash I’ve ever heard.” Strange sermons in the brutality vektor.

Hell Fire – Reckoning Review

By Holdeneye on August 11, 2022 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 79 comments

“I vividly remember writing the review for Hell Fire’s 2019 release Mania. I was sitting in a folding chair in my empty, about-to-be-sold house, passing the time while an HVAC person repaired my apparently damaged furnace. I sat there typing with my headphones on, letting the San Francisco band’s beautiful guitar harmonies and journeyman heavy/speed/thrash metal soothe my heart, a heart still aching from an unanticipated $2000 bill. I remember at the time thinking that I might be underrating Mania, wondering if the stress of moving wasn’t affecting my ability to be objective.” Hell bills coming due.

Raptore – Blackfire Review

By Holdeneye on August 4, 2022 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 62 comments

“Originating in Argentina, Raptore released one full-length album back in 2016 and have been relatively quiet ever since, with a contribution to a 5-way split being their only other official release. But after moving to Spain in search of the right lineup, founding guitarist and vocalist Nico Cattoni finds his project poised to unleash sophomore record Blackfire upon an unsuspecting trüe metal scene. Single “Prisoner of the Night” demonstrates Raptore’s kitchen-sink approach to writing classic heavy metal tunes by combining bits of early Ozzy with the hair metal swagger of Mötley Crüe and a bit of American power metal.” Angry birds.